Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Pieces of Learning, in partnership with the Ohio Leadership Institute presents the Teaching Leadership & 21st Century Skills Conference. This brand new conference is being held at the Doubletree Inn, in Worthington, OH (Columbus) on September 19th & 20th, 2016. Registration includes two days of exciting and educational workshops, breakfast and lunch on both days, an educational publication of your choice, and optional continuing educational credits.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

With the 10 year anniversary coming up next month, we thought we would share some of our memories of the devastating Hurricane Katrina:

After days of anticipation and speculation, early on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it brought sustained winds of over 100 miles per hour. Although the storm itself did a great deal of damage, its aftermath was catastrophic.

As we all watched the news reports, we couldn’t imagine the devastation caused by this hurricane.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Barbara Vandecreek is the author of the Math Rules! Series
published by Pieces of Learning. This post was written in May of 2006
and just made it to the top of the pile again. I thought it deserved a
re-post. Please share it! - Tyler Young

by Barbara Vandecreek

I fell for it too... disguise the name of the class. We don't want to offend anyone, don't want the kids to stand out from the others. People thought it was invoking elitism to call students 'gifted.' The first district I worked in called the pull-out, "Challenge Class."

You know I still get a funny feeling inside when I meet someone and am asked what I do. New conversations always go to that, "So you're a teacher." Then predictably, "What do you teach?" Reluctantly I answer, "gifted." I've been teaching gifted for over twenty years. You'd think I'd get over it. I feel like I'm trying to show off or something, a false pride in working with smart kids. Do special ed teachers get the feeling that they're special? Coaches don't have any problem saying they coach. They're proud of it and expect applause. Some, not all.

A neighbor of mine once took umbrage when he overheard me tell a guest at a party that I "taught gifted." He puffed out his chest mockingly and told me that I sounded pompous. Did I really sound pompous or was that his projection? How do I know if it's in my mind or his? Why do people feel that way? Is it intimidating for them? After all, I do point out that I teach gifted. I'm careful not to say I'm a gifted teacher. I don't know if they catch the distinction.

Some of the names given to cover up the identification of gifted classes include KARE (the acronym includes the name of the school district), EDGE, EL (Exceptional Learner), Endeavor, and many others. The cute names remind me how teachers used to call their reading groups: blue birds, robins, and eagles. Everyone knew that the eagles were the smart kids. No one had to tell them.

I must say that within the last few years the state organization in which I am a member has been encouraging districts to call the gifted classes gifted classes. I don't think everyone does it yet. I know that because one question in the recent self-report each district must send to the state education department asks, "What is the local name your district uses for service, if any?" And, at a meeting of coordinators not long ago, a coordinator remarked that we need not use 'that' word. I sided with the coordinator who spoke up that if we called the class "Purple" everyone would know that the meaning of purple was 'gifted'.

It hit me October 3rd, 2004 and never again will I hesitate to call my students gifted or my classes the gifted classes. I was watching the television program "Sunday Morning, CBS" and the commentator interviewed Ringo Starr. At one point Ringo said, and I quote, "I play the drums. That's what I do. It's God's gift to me, so I do it the best I can."

Now when my students and I talk about the class they are in I tell them like it is. High intelligence is a gift. You can't buy it. You can't earn it. You can't pick it out from a set of choices. It is given to you, that's why it's called a gift. So, do the best you can with it. You don't need to defend it. Don't hide it. When someone gives you a gift you wear it, show it off, play with it, use it. Tell it like it is!

The local name my district uses for the service goes by no other name - "Gifted Class."

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

"Texting is fingered speech. Now we can write the way we talk" - John McWhorter

Texting often gets a bad rap when it comes to its effect on the English Language. Many articles, books, and lectures have featured debates about the long-term effect that texting will have on the way we communicate.

However, studies are now showing that students are able to communicate just as well as before texting was popular. If anything, texting is encouraging children to use written language more often in a more casual and less threatening environment.

With every generation come cries that teenagers are destroying the language with their slang. People are now complaining that casual language used in texts and instant messages keeps kids from understanding how to write and speak “properly.” In fact, experts say that texting is far from destroying English, but innovating and enriching the language.

We used to speak like we talked, however, now it’s the other way around. Now, we can write quickly enough to capture qualities of spoken language in our writing, and teens are doing just that. John McWhorter’s 2013 TED Talk “Txting is killing language. JK!!!” states that teenagers are innovating language. He believes their creative development of the English language should be not mocked, but studied, calling texting “an expansion of [young people’s] linguistic repertoire.” As an example, he focuses in on the term lol. It can now be used not only to talk about something truly funny, but instead sets a tone that the person writing the text is conveying a lighthearted tone.

So, while LOL and ROFL may not have been part of our language 15 years ago, now may be the perfect time to embrace and celebrate our ever-changing language.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Nancy Polette (pronounced nan’-sē po-lēt’) is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Her love of reading and passion for writing are an inspiration for everyone.

Nancy Polette with other members of the Pieces of Learning family ata Texas Gifted Conference.

I had the honor and privilege of traveling and working with Nancy for several years through Pieces of Learning; she as a conference presenter and me as conference exhibitor. She never ceased to amaze me with her ability to captivate her audience, while teaching the teachers to get the best use of books in their classrooms. She is also a lot of fun after the work was done! Over dinner, she could tell some of the funniest and most interesting stories about her life as a workshop and conference presenter, as well as an educator for many years. She was always extremely popular and in high demand. She has traveled more than 2 million miles across this nation presenting at educational conferences, staff development workshops and training teachers in library-use practices.

Nancy’s first official publication was a poem, which was published in a children’s magazine when she was only 10 years old. Of course, she later became a teacher and librarian! She has taught at both the elementary and college levels, while continuing to write professional books, novels and picture books, along with hundreds of literature guides for teachers to use in the classroom.

Her writing career really began when she realized there were not enough resources available for teachers to use in the school libraries. So she promptly wrote several resources and guides for the teachers and librarians to use.

She has been an educator for over fifty years and is the Professor Emeritus of Education at Lindenwood University near St. Louis, Missouri. Nancy believes that reading is knowledge and she worries that if kids today are not passionate about reading, they may not be as well-educated as they could be.

Nancy is my role model. I am so grateful to her for her kind and gentle words of encouragement to me during an extremely difficult time in my life. She helped me believe in me!

By: Peggy Hord, Consultant Coordinator, Pieces of Learning

In honor of Nancy and her legacy at Pieces of Learning, we are offering all of her books 25% off. Order any of Nancy's books from our website before June 15th and use the coupon code POLETTE to get this discount and experience the teaching strategies that have made Nancy so popular with Pieces of Learning's customers!

Monday, May 18, 2015

I know you are winding down and can only think about summer vacations, getting some work done around the house, and spending more time with your family (or at least away from your classroom), but do a few of the things on this list now and save yourself time in the fall when everything is happening all at once!

Get your first week handouts copied and put in a folder for next year – so you aren't waiting on copiers or printers when you come back in the fall.

Get end of year awards and handouts ready to pass out.

Make a list of things you didn't get to this year that you really want to teach next year. Schedule them as things you will do the first Monday of each month throughout the year or every Wednesday first thing, etc.

Update your required supplies list for next year’s group of students.

Fill out your calendar with next year’s days off, in-service days, testing dates, etc. – Color-code them for better organization.

Set up classroom organizers for next year. Go ahead and color-code those folders, print new labels, and alphabetize everything.

Clean your white boards/calendars/take down items pertaining to this year’s group of students.

Have students start cleaning out their desks/lockers – have them take home items they will no longer need this year.

Do you have storage containers for each section of the year (Fall poster boards/wall decor, winter holidays) – go ahead and get them in order for next year. Update anything that was damaged or discolored to have a fresh clean look for next year.

You may be putting in a little extra work right now, but you’ll appreciate everything you did in the fall!

Comment in the section below what you do the last few weeks of the year…

Monday, May 4, 2015

To a student these are exciting words to read on a school calendar. It means a day off for no reason!

How most students imagine Teacher In-Service Days

How most teachers imagine Teacher In-Service Days

However, for a teacher, in-service days often bring images of long days spent listening to a speaker when you could be working in your classroom and getting caught up on your grading, lesson planning, etc.

As a company that offers speakers for Staff Development Workshops, we know the value of staff development workshops because we have seen the results from them. So, as an in-service day approaches, keep in mind the following reasons why Staff Development is important.1. Staff Development allows teachers to learn new, exciting, and innovative ways to teach.In education, strategies and
methods are constantly changing. Many
teachers feel like as soon as they learn one way of teaching, things have
already changed. However, not all of
these changes are bad. We are constantly
discovering more about how children learn and how we can better cater their
school experience to their needs. This
is where staff development comes in. A
good staff development presenter will take a new idea or strategy and help you
learn how to implement it in your classroom in a way that is effective for the
student and doesn’t cause more work or stress for you, the teacher.2.Staff Development unites teachers to work
together as a team.Teaching is often not a team sport. Often times, teachers feel isolated from the
lack of conversation with adults.Staff
Development days are a good time for teachers to bounce ideas off of one
another, talk about problems in their classrooms, and unite as a team of
teachers.3.Staff Development gives the opportunity for
teachers to ask the administration questions.With the business of a typical day
in a school, there is often not enough time to ask administration questions
about policies, new rules or expectations, and overall general questions.Staff development often gives the
administration and teachers a forum to discuss problems, questions, and
expectations.4.Staff Development gives teachers a chance to
re-evaluate their methods.In all things, it’s easy to get
stuck in a rut and do things the way you've always done them.The same is true for teaching.Staff Development provides you with the
opportunity to research new methods and ideas and re-evaluate how you are
teaching.

So, next time you see teacher in-service on the school calendar,
try not to think about all the other things you could be doing. Instead, see this time as an opportunity to become the best teacher you can be for
your students.